Trending
In the world full of games that desperately try to copy one another, being as close to them as possible, stumbling across a game that does its own thing without a single care that it might not be to everyone's liking is like hitting a jackpot, and when I started to play Steel Seed, that was my exact sentiment.
Being a big fan of a good action adventure, playing Steel Seed felt like a breath of fresh air, and upon finding out that this game's focus is stealth, I was even happier. I mean, how often do we get the chance to play a decent stealth game? After the "deaths" of the Splinter Cell and Metal Gear series, no true stealth game came out. There have been some attempts, but really, nothing significant happened.
And then, one small Italian studio with not a lot of experience under their belt made a game that aims to empower all stealth mechanics known to us with a pinch of its own charm—the result could have gone in any direction, really. Fortunately, Steel Seed lived up to all expectations, becoming a stealth game that will most definitely be recognised by the fans of the franchise and casual gamers alike.
Story
Perhaps the strongest asset of Steel Seed is its story, and the developers very well knew that's going to be the case. From the very beginning, the narrative will hook you, and you won't be able to let it go to the very end—seriously, the story is so well-written, with just the right amount of intrigue perfectly dosed to us, that it will be very hard to stop playing. Even though the game isn't especially long—the story can be finished in about 10 to 15 hours—the story will truly push you forward, and you'll probably finish the game in just a couple of sessions.
The main protagonist of this game is Zoe, a humanoid whose consciousness is transferred into a mechanical, robotic body. The world as we know it has ended; humanity is destroyed by its own greed, but luckily, one scientist anticipated such an end and decided to produce so-called seeds that will restore humanity after the danger passes away.
He empowered AI to help him make this dream a reality, but something went awfully wrong in the process, costing him his life. Now, the only hope for humanity is Zoe, his daughter, who controls a robotic body designed especially for such a task. Her objective will be to restore four shards that will help revive the consciousness of her father, who will know what to do to fix a mistake and restore the seeds that will return human life on Earth.
This is the premise of the story in a nutshell; of course, everything isn't so black and white, and Zoe's journey will meet many twists and turns, including some shocking discoveries about the world and two AIs that rage war against each other, the huge machines and mysterious enemies, and many more.
Even though the story is told in a very good manner, as I've mentioned earlier, if you fancy widening the story and learning even more about what happened during the period before Zoe woke up, the game will give you special logs, which you'll be able to collect throughout the levels. Those logs will deepen the lore and add some extra layers to an already rich story. I am not a particular fan of reading letters and such content in the game, but I was always looking forward to finding those logs; even though those logs are pretty lengthy, reading them was never boring.
The only small criticism regarding the storytelling is the lack of a proper sync between the events told in the regular story and the ones from the logs. On several occasions, I found a log that explained something shocking, and Zoe showed zero reaction. After a couple of minutes, Zoe finds out about stuff she just read, and she is surprised and shocked. I wouldn't be mentioning this if it happened just once or twice, but lacking the reaction every time is a problem. Perhaps the game doesn't register this as Zoe's acknowledgement, only yours; who knows?
Gameplay
As mentioned before, Steel Seed is a stealth-oriented action adventure with platforming elements mixed with a not-so-deep melee combat system. To explain this game's gameplay in the simplest way possible, I will break it down into its four main categories: stealth, combat, platforming, and exploration.
Stealth
Steel Seed's shining star, apart from a very good story, is, without doubt, the stealth. The stealth mechanics are pretty much basic; you can sneak around, hide behind cover, hide inside the glitch fields (which work as tall grass in some other stealth-based games), whistle to attract enemies, and then assassinate them or, more likely, destroy them because the enemies are robots in this game, and usual stealth stuff.
Stealth is always the first resource, and if things go south, Zoe will draw her sword and the combat can begin, or you can escape, try to hide, and regain stealth once the enemies forget about you. However, the enemies won't forget you that easily, and once they get alerted, they will search for you, breaking their usual patrol patterns.
The biggest help Zoe will have during her journey will be her drone, Koby. Koby is very useful in solving some environmental puzzles, activating switches, and scanning the environments, and once you find yourself inside sections with enemies around, you'll be able to take control of Koby and mark the enemies. Once you unlock a certain skill, the pathways of the enemies will be shown, and this feature will help you a lot in disposing of them.
It is very well evident that this game forces stealth in some sections, especially towards the end when enemies are becoming tougher and bigger in numbers. There will be sections where you'll be facing a few dozen or more enemies, and if you break the stealth, surviving is simply not an option.
In such occasions, you'll either have to choose to kill all the enemies or to try to avoid them to reach the objective; however, avoiding enemies, although possible in theory, doesn't work well in practice because you'll most certainly get caught, and if you're in the section with a bigger number of enemies, you'll probably end up dead.
I found myself repeating several encounters due to the poor placement of the enemies more than I wanted to, and I was pretty pissed because of that. In one section, for example, I encountered the torrent (the most dangerous enemy because you can only kill it stealthily) and two brutes, which are extremely tough and can only be killed in open combat. For this encounter alone, I had to lower the difficulty because it was that hard.
In essence, stealth is very fun, and you'll have to strategise a lot to come out victorious, but I one thing I didn't like is the the way it sometimes forces you to play in such a way, without the ability to choose any other approach—you simply must play as the developers intended you to.
Combat
The combat in Steel Seed serves as a last resort, and if you ask me, this is how every stealth game should be designed. The one and only weapon Zoe has is a sword that looks and sounds a lot like a lightsaber from Star Wars. With it, she can employ the light attack and heavy attack and a couple of special moves once they're unlocked through the skills.
Once engaged in combat, Zoe will be able to lock on enemies, switch locks, and dodge enemy attacks, and in this, the combat system reminds me a lot of the ones from Souls-like games. Not only does the combat system look like the one from the Souls-likes, but it also feels like one due to its unforgiving difficulty. Even on the easiest difficulty settings, you'll very often end up dead if you dare to face the enemies straight on.
The game features the save points called S4VI Points, where you can save the game, unlock skills and new suits, and even heal, but it will respawn all the enemies in the area. Remind you of something? Of course, the Souls-like mechanics. However, borrowing those elements and then making the combat system that is as advanced as the one from Super Mario games is a true crime, in my humble opinion.
In any case, as I said before, the combat is here to be the last resort, and you do well to see it as such. However, there are some sections in the game where the combat is forced, and those can be a real pain in the neck. One ambush situation forced me to fight three waves of very tough enemies, and I barely survived the encounter.
Speaking of combat, I'm really disappointed because the game lacks bosses or any sort of tough fights. There are some scripted chase encounters, but those are probably the most annoying part of the game. Once those chases start, you'll have to escape the area, and if you make a single mistake, the entire sequence starts anew. Those really made me rage on several occasions, not because they were too hard or something, but rather because they were too annoying.
Platforming and exploration
The levels in Steel Seed are quite linear, apart from the areas featuring the enemies, which are more open for strategising around. Those linear sections are filled with obstacles Zoe has to overcome to reach the next area. You'll use jumps and double jumps, and later in the game, you'll unlock thrusters, which will turn you into Iron Man. Well, not exactly the Ironman because Zoe's thrusters are quite limited, but the feeling will be pretty much the same.
As the game progresses, new obstacles and new powers will unlock, making platforming really fun and occasionally very hard, which is very commendable, to be frank. The levels will feature several collectables as well, like previously mentioned logs, places where you can pick up upgrade materials, and more. Exploration can be interesting due to a genius-level design, which deserves special praise.
As you unlock new skills, you'll be able to scan the area with Koby and locate the collectables, and obtaining them will prove very challenging once you recognise their locations, but the path to them remains hidden.
Graphics and performance
First, let's praise level design. Seriously, the level design, from the graphical point of view, is just sick. The game features four different areas, two of which are set inside monstrous futuristic facilities with an insane level of detail that won't stop amazing you to the very end of the game. The other two areas are more nature-oriented, where nature and technology perfectly blend, and those are nothing short of spectacular as well.
The game is made using Unreal Engine 5, and I must say that this is probably the prime example of what this piece of software from Epic is really capable of. The spaces where the game takes place are huge and jam-packed with details, and even though the levels are very big, you'll never meet two similar areas.
Not to mention the lighting, which is truly lifelike, along with the use of all modern graphic features that will keep you in constant awe. I've seen earlier the examples of small studios making a game with extraordinary visuals, but Steel Seed is definitely on a different level—you really have to see this marvel to truly believe it.
Seeing such amazing visuals, one might think that it comes with a cost, meaning you have to own a monster of a PC to properly run it and use all its features, but the beauty of it is that you really don't. My quite outdated GPU, the RTX 3080 Ti, maintained a stable framerate of 80+ FPS all the time, even within some very demanding areas.
There were some FPS drops at times; I'm not going to lie, but that happened maybe twice during the entire playtime, which is more than praiseworthy. In any case, such a beautiful-looking game that uses Unreal Engine 5 as it should be used, giving us the amazing visual experience and being so well optimised at the same time, is a really rare feat. For this, if for nothing else, my hat is off to the Storm in a Teacup studio. Amazing job, guys, really.
Regarding sound design, I have nothing special to say. The music isn't bad, but it isn't good either; let's say it's pretty regular. The actress who lent her voice to Zoe is very talented, I can tell, but sometimes Zoe feels out of synch. Her emotions will sparkle at times. For example, when Zoe discovers something sad, she will talk slowly and with a lower voice, but suddenly, she will change her mood and start laughing. I don't know if that was the developers intention to make her sound like that, but I must say it feels off.
The other sounds are as good as any and don't deserve particular praise or criticism.
Conclusion
Steel Seed is a really good stealth game that will, in the absence of some AAA stealth hits like Splinter Cell and Metal Gear, be able to scratch that particular stealth game itch. Even though good combat isn't a necessity in such games, and I won't take it against Steel Seed, it would be just perfect if the developers decided to give it a bit more attention and make it deeper than it is.
However, the graphical presentation and the level of detail in this game will make you forget all its shortcomings because it is that impressive. So if you can overlook some small flaws that I pointed out in this review, you're in for an unforgettable journey in which you'll kill hundreds of rogue robots in stealth and discover an amazing story along the way.
The Good
Unique and satisfying stealth gameplay- Engaging and well-written story
- Exceptional level and environmental design
- Stunning visuals using Unreal Engine 5
- Well-optimized performance across hardware
The Bad
Forced stealth sections with limited combat alternatives- Shallow and occasionally frustrating combat mechanics
